Rupert Grint attends the special UK screening of “Knockin’ on the Cabin” held at Vue West End on January 25, 2023 in London, England.
Dave J. Hogan | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Former “Harry Potter” film actor Rupert Grint faces a £1.8 million ($2.3 million) fine after losing a legal battle with tax authorities.
Grint, who plays Ron Wesley in the Conjuring film series, was ordered to pay the money in 2019 after UK tax agency HMRC investigated his tax returns from seven years ago.
The agency said Grint mistakenly classified £4.5m of the film’s residual proceeds – money from DVD sales, TV syndication, streaming rights and other sources – as capital assets rather than income, which would be taxed at much higher.
Grint’s lawyers appealed, but after years of wrangling, a court judge this week ruled against the actor. Judge Harriet Morgan said the money had “substantially its entire value derived from Mr Grint’s activities” and was “taxable as income”.
Grint, 36, starred in all eight Harry Potter films between 2001 and 2011 as the young wizard’s best friend, a role for which he is calculated to have earned around £24million .
In 2019, he lost a separate court action over a £1 million tax refund.
